Jeff is gone to North Carolina to pick up Dorie. We are pretty much on our own in Camp Refuge for the week. Just like when we started over a year ago. It is so quiet and peaceful.
We told the Ferny Alarm to wait until 8 am to wake up Lauren. That didn't work. As soon as she knew his eyes opened to look at the clock to see what time it was, it was on. Lauren played opossum for a little bit, but by 6:30 am, the meowing got louder and louder, demanding him to get out of bed.
We were off by 10 am on the Crane Whisperer Tour. We started with a drive through Brown's Trail.
We saw an adult Great Blue Heron in the nest, but no nestlings. They must have fledged already.
We stopped to get a picture of the Northeastern Bladderworts and found a Bullfrog sitting amongst them. You never know what kind of beauty you may find.
Lauren stopped abruptly on our way out of Brown's Trail, rolled down the window, and started taking pictures of a flower. I got all excited when I saw cranes. Lauren assured me that he was looking at a flower, not cranes. I assured him that I was looking at 2 cranes and a colt. We are so glad the flower child had to stop for a photo.
We made out way to the Ocean Springs Unit and saw a Bald Eagle fly up from the pond. We don't see Eagles in South Gautier Unit after June, but we do see them occasionally in the Ocean Springs Unit.
We saw a Ms. Sandhill Crane sneaking across the road. This is the second time we have seen her do this. There is probably a nest nearby.
The South Gautier Unit did not disappoint. We saw 6 more Ms. Sandhill Cranes. The resident Gator was in his small pond on Firetower, still curious, when we stopped for a looksee. He swims around following us where ever we go.
The refuge tour was fantastic. We saw Great Blue Herons Deer, a Raccoon, a Great Egret, 10 Ms. Sandhill Cranes, beautiful plants, and several other bird species.
Around 6:30 pm we found Coconut and Banana playing in the water sprinklers in the back yard of the VC. Crab Apple watched but did not partake in the fun.
Monday
We walked the Fountainebleu Trail then picked up trash at the entrances of the Fountainebleu Units and the North and South Units. The Fountaineblue Trail is all greened up and looking good.
When we returned to Crane Lane, the Free Birds were near the kiosk foraging.
We had the pleasure to go on the last release of the Dusky Gopher Frogs. We only had 14 to release.
We didn't find any snakes on this release.
The interns were wearing their new rubber boots. Shannon had not taken her tags off her boots. She looked confused when Lauren called her, "Minnie Pearl," While we waited for the frogs to acclimate to the environment prior to their release, Angie played songs that Minnie Pearl sang on Hee Haw.
When it came time to release the frogs they were more than ready to leave. Unlike last time when we had to coax them out. I guess they had enough of Minnie Pearl's singing.
Before we left for the frog release, the Free Birds were on the back lawn. When we returned, it looked like they were roosting on the front porch of the VC.
Tuesday
We worked with Pat at the VC, We all hung around this morning talking with William Carey College from Hattiesburg and another visitor watching the Free Birds out the back windows of the VC, The Free Birds were in a real festive mood, in the cloudy weather, dancing in the savanna.
Lauren mowed at HQ and the Dees Trail. After over 15 months of nagging, Lauren finally gave me lessons on riding the Zero Turn Lawn Mower!! He has always said there was no need for me to have these talents. My insistence, aka nagging, finally paid off. I got to help, (or hinder), him with mowing today. I only have a small claim to fame of driving the John Deere lawn mower, but I did it without incident.
We took a ride to town around 5 pm and had to wait for the wet, soggy, Free Birds to get off Crane Lane. When we returned they were hanging around the feeder.
Wednesday
Yesterday, the Ferny Alarm did not occur until 7 am. This morning, we are off and can sleep longer, the Ferny Alarm started at 6 am. We ignored her and slept intermittently until 7:30 am. That dang Cat!!
We enjoyed our walk along the Dees Trail, then headed out. First stop was Sam's to order me some glasses. The glasses I have been wearing are about 6 years old. A lot has changed in this time frame, including my eyesight.
We stopped and played our Free Play at Island View, (plus a little more), then toured Highway 90. The shore bird watching was pretty much Gulls and Great Blue Herons.
We detoured into the Gulf Island National Seashore National Park, and found a Green Heron Nest with 3 nestlings and a couple of gators. The smaller Gator attempted to have a turtle snack while we were on the pier watching. We were glad, he missed.
The Free Birds were in the back yard of HQ munching on the corn and pellets in the feeder around 6:30 pm. They were no where in sight at 7:30 pm. I guess they have a new roosting site.
Thursday
We worked the VC with Pat today. We had a 11:30 am presentation at the Midway United Methodist Church in Moss Point. The Free Birds were in the fire lane when we left the VC.
We gave a general overview of the Refuge and answered questions. Our presentation lasted about 15 minutes. That Certified Interpretive Guide course we took last year, (and fretted over), really paid off today.
After the presentation, we ate lunch with them. They had a fantastic potluck feast. It was nice to have lunch at a church that was not associated with a funeral.
When we returned, I worked on the Jr. Duck Stamp winners list that will be used for the art exhibit at Pascagoula River Audubon Center next month. Lauren worked on a malfunctioning lock on the rear door of the van.
We sat around enjoying the birding late afternoon. The Free Birds were near the feeder right before dark.
Friday
It was a stifling, hot,and humid, first day of summer. We worked with Pat at the VC today. I completed the Jr. Duck Stamp winners list. Lauren trimmed limbs on Camp Refuge road. He attempted to fill in a hole on the Dees Trail, but realized it was a plastic culvert that had burned during the prescribed burn a few months ago. OOPS!
Late afternoon, we did a little bird watching, then took a walk on the Dees Trail. I thought about Jackie when I saw all the pretty White Topped Sedge in the savanna. I think this is one of her favorite flowers she saw when she took a tour with us last month.
We had a beautiful sunset reflection on Bayou Castille tonight.
No Free Bird sightings today.👀
Saturday
We worked at the VC with Pat until 11 am, then took Pam and Adam, (the incoming volunteers,) on an orientation tour of the refuge.
Pam had been on a couple of Crane Tours, Adam had not. We went to the Ocean Springs Unit first. We drove for a while before seeing our first Ms. Sandhill Cranes. It was not just Cranes, but a couple with their baby. We kept our distance and let them take cover before we preceded.
We made a quick stop for a bite to eat at the Honey Hole convenience store, then took them on our route we do for the actual Crane Tours. We entered the gate at Brown's Trail, and found 3 Ms. Sandhill Cranes to our right and 2 Ms. Sandhill Cranes to our left.
We continued on our journey. Only one Great Blue Heron was standing in the nest at Valentine Pond.
When we were headed out of Valentine Road, we saw another couple of Ms. Sandhill Cranes with their youngster. It was so funny to watch him cross the road. He hunkered down and walked awkwardly across the gravel road. It must have been his first time his feet touched gravel. Ouch!
When we made it to Brown's Crop Unit, we saw another Ms. Sandhill Crane couple with their colt on the other side of the pen.
As we were making our way toward the end of Brown's Trail, we found the Coca Cola crane pair in the savanna. They were beautifully poised in the gorgeous wild flowers.
The Crane sightings continued on the South Gautier Unit. We flushed 5 cohorts on Ben Williams Road, then saw another Ms. Sandhill Crane couple with their chick. When the parents saw us, they flew away and the chick squatted down and hid in the grass. When we drove back, they did the same thing again. We were very surprised the parents would fly off and leave their chick.
When we drove back in on Crane Lane, the Free Birds were foraging in the savanna.
28 Ms. Sandhill Crane sightings, (4 of them baby cranes), Red-tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, an Anhinga, Great Egrets, Eastern King-birds, a turkey, a Fox Squirrel, Frogs, beautiful plants and many other bird species. Pam and Adam had a fantastic orientation tour.
The Crane Whisperers still got it!!
Week of Pictures:
